Abode migrants freed after judge rules they can stay until appeal

All detained migrants claiming the right of abode were released from prison yesterday after a judge ruled they could not be held or removed until their status was determined by the Court of Appeal.

Mr Justice Brian Keith said he had not overlooked claims that his judgment might encourage more people to enter Hong Kong illegally or to overstay in the run-up to a test case appeal.

'I see the force of that argument, but it is important not to overstate the position. The fact remains that if the appeal succeeds, such people will be regarded as having the right of abode despite the way in which they came to be in Hong Kong.

'Permitting the Director of Immigration to repatriate them in the meantime would render the outcome of that appeal meaningless for them.' The migrants had been arrested in a crackdown which followed a ruling by another judge on Tuesday, declaring they must return to the mainland to apply for certificates of entitlement.

But that judgment is to be the subject of an appeal which will probably be heard in May or June.

Mr Justice Keith ruled that migrants in the same position as the 17 involved in the test case should also be allowed to stay until the outcome.

His ruling applied directly to the 100 migrants who brought an urgent court action on Wednesday in an attempt to prevent their removal.